02-19-2008 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Road Advisory Minutes-February 19, 2008 ROAD ADVISORY COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 19, 2008-1 :05 PM 1. MEETING TO ORDER Commissioner Vern Bennett called a meeting of the Road Advisory Committee to order at 1 :05 PM on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, in the Commission Room, Cass County Courthouse. Members were present as follows: Vern Bennett, Ken Pawluk, Robyn Sorum, Scott Wagner, Darrell Vanyo, Keith Berndt, Rich Sieg, Jurgen Suhr, Mark Johnson and Scott Saewert. Also present were Chief Deputy Jim Thoreson, Cass County Sheriff's Department and Tom Soucy, Cass County Highway Department. 2. CASS COUNTY HIGHWAY 17 AND HIGHWAY 6, Discussion and action reaardina reaardina alternatives for intersection Mr. Berndt said in April and December of 2007 the committee discussed alternatives for the intersection of Cass County Highway 17 and Cass County Highway 6 (52nd Avenue South). He stated that a decision needs to be made as to whether a conventional intersection or a roundabout would best serve the traffic needs and safety at the intersection. A roundabout would accommodate large agricultural equipment if built properly. Snow and ice would be an issue as with any intersection, resulting in an increased accident rate. Constructing a roundabout to handle two-lane traffic would not accommodate increased traffic volume in the future. Therefore, the roundabout would need to be reconstructed to the west to align the intersection and accommodate larger traffic volume. Rick Lane and Eric Bach, SRF Consulting presented an analysis of traffic flow charts compiled from a study they did on the intersection. Mr. Lane stated a roundabout has many benefits including: increased traffic capacity; reduced traffic noise and fuel use due to continual traffic flow; a conventional intersection has 32 conflict points compared to 8 in a roundabout; reduced t-bone and severe intersection accidents. A negative point regarding a roundabout would be the delay of north/south traffic due to higher traffic volume; lower traffic volume would benefit east/west traffic. Projections show traffic volume reaching capacity for a two-lane roundabout in 2025. Mr. Bach said the cost of a conventional intersection is approximately $180,000, plus $160,000 for signal lights. Total roundabout cost estimate is $240,000. Mr. Berndt has started the process to purchase right-of-way property for future expansion of the road which would also allow for the alignment of the intersections. As traffic volume increases the bridge will also need to be replaced or widened. Mr. Wagner expressed the opportunity for a public information meeting as many people do not have knowledge of a roundabout. Mr. Berndt said that if a decision to proceed with a roundabout is made he would recommend a public information meeting Chief Deputy Thoreson questioned how the roundabout would affect current speed limits and other intersections that are controlled by signal lights. Mr. Lane replied the recommendation would be to extend slower speed limits to help traffic transition to and from the roundabout and to use roundabout for continuity on intersections as expansion continues.